1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a mechanism for a wheel, and particularly relates to a wheel control mechanism applicable to a front wheel of a baby stroller. The mechanism allows the user to select whether the wheel will be universally turning or not.
2. Related Art
A baby stroller generally includes a frame and several wheels mounted under the frame. A carrier with a soft pad is attached to the frame for a child or baby to sit in or lie on. The frame includes a handle for moving the stroller. Different kinds of strollers have been made in which the frames are foldable or fixed, the seats or beds are for one or two babies, the wheels are of common types or sporting types, and three or four wheels are used. A sporting-type stroller, for example, as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,196,572, 5,876,309 or 5,536,033, is carried along by parents who go walking or jogging while the child sits in the stroller. In order to manipulate the stroller easily, the stroller is equipped with three wheels of which one is in the front and two at the back. Since the stroller is moved by a user at a higher speed when jogging, the front wheel is usually fixed in the forward direction to ensure safety of the baby or child, instead of universal rotation, which may cause unintentional turning and falling of the stroller when it moves on uneven ground.
Since strollers are rather expensive, costing 100 to 300 U.S. dollars or more, a family usually cannot afford two kinds of strollers, i.e., one for common use and one for jogging. Therefore, when using a jogging-type stroller at low speed, the single direction wheel makes the turning difficult and inconvenient.
Therefore, an ideal wheel for a stroller would be one that can be easily changed between universal rotation and single directional modes.
The object of the invention is to provide a wheel mechanism by which a wheel can be selectively changed with functions of universal turning and fixed directional turning.
A wheel mechanism according to the invention includes a vertical axle and a latch mechanism. The upper end of the vertical axle is pivotally connected to the frame of the stroller. The lower end of the vertical axle is fixed to a horizontal axle of the wheel. The latch is movably mounted along the vertical axle and the frame and selectively moved between a released position and a locked position. When in the released position, the wheel can freely turn around the vertical axle. When in the locked position, the wheel cannot turn on the vertical axle but only rotates with the horizontal axle in a certain direction.
Further scope of the applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.